Side Effects or Direct Effects?

There is one common question that individuals ask before they ever take a prescription drug. “What are the side effects?” Many people don’t even take the time to do their homework. Before you pop another pill, you must understand how the side effects of medication directly effect your body. How they affect it today and in years to come. All too often these “side effects” are actually “dire effects.”

In the Lab

Medications are tested in a laboratory until the chemical reaction that they are designed to achieve is reproducible. The direct effects of this lab testing must be consistent before these chemicals are ever tested on animals or people. Once human testing begins, scientists measure the impact of these medications. They are looking to see if they cause the same direct effects that were induced in a laboratory. If these effects are reproducible, the testing continues to see if any other effects occur on people.

These are called “side effects” for two reasons. First, because they were not present in the laboratory setting. Second, because their impact on humans was outside of their intended effect. In actuality, these side effects are direct effects of these drugs on the body. Because we are all unique in our body chemistry, direct effects, labeled side effects, impact individuals differently and they are much more common than people think.

The Long List

The “side effects” (direct effects) of Lipitor, for example, are constipation, gas, headaches, stomach pain, weakness, rash, hives, itching, difficulty breathing, chest pain, swelling of the mouth or face, bone, joint or tendon pain, change in urination, fever, chills, sore throat, flu-like symptoms, joint pain, muscle pain, tenderness, weakness, bowel changes, skin changes, swelling of the hands or feet, yellowing of the eyes or skin. This “incomplete” list, according to www.drugs.com, shows that while Lipitor may effect cholesterol levels in the body, there can be dozens of other direct effects that impact you in an unhealthy way.

Drug companies prepare a list of side effects for the consumer, while also listing additional side effects that doctors should be aware of. If you go to www.drugs.com and type in any common drug, then select “side effects,” you will notice that the side effects to the consumer take up half a page while the side effects/direct effects for the physician to be aware of can take up many more pages. Most people are unaware of all the effects that medications can cause. As a result, they often treat these side effects as symptoms with other drugs because they think they are a separate health problem.

This is dangerous because the interactions between drugs can cause even more severe direct effects. Those direct effects are very difficult to predict and identify. Too many people unknowingly go down this road until their body chemistry is completely out of balance and their Innate Intelligence is confused.

It Adds Up

Additionally, as in the case of Lipitor, there are twelve different listings of side effects/direct effects. These listings show adverse reactions in greater than 2% of the cases. When you add the numbers of each direct effect, you will notice that the percentage of actual cases experiencing at least one of these effects is huge.

The direct effects of these medications combine with the reality of our extended life spans to 80, 90, 100 years and beyond. Add to that the knowledge that drugs only need to be tested for a short period of time before they are brought to market. It becomes obvious that living a lifestyle that keeps you independently healthy and free from the need for medications is your best long-term option. As a very last resort, we are thankful to have these options. As a lifestyle, drugs of all kinds can be dangerous. Do not treat them like candy.

Thomas Edison saw this coming in 1903. He stated, “The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.” The future is now. Be present and live your ideal 100 Year Lifestyle beginning right now.